Brave Orchid, the husband, and Kingston

In this part of the book, Brave Orchid is determined to reunite her sister with her husband in Los Angeles.  Even though it is obvious that her brother-in-law has made a new life for himself in America and doesn’t want to have anything to do with her sister, Brave Orchid believes that her plan will work.  She reminds Moon Orchid that it is her right as his first wife to reclaim what is truly hers.  In many ways, Brave Orchid’s actions are irrational and overdramatic.  She has her son drive them to her brother-in-law’s office, trick him into coming down, and tells Moon Orchid, “I’ll hit him.  I’ll protect you.  I’ll hit him back.  The two of us will knock him down and make him listen” (Kingston 145).  Even though it may seem like Brave Orchid’s intentions are genuine, she goes too far and is insensitive toward her sister’s wishes.  If Brave Orchid had listened to Moon Orchid, had not forced her sister to see her husband, I believe that Moon Orchid would be well and happy, not crazy and living in an asylum.

Despite Moon Orchid's tears and obvious disapproval of the whole situation, Brave Orchid forces her to sit "straight" and meet her husband.

Nevertheless, Brave Orchid isn’t the only one to blame for Moon Orchid’s mental breakdown.  Last class, we talked about whether or not the doctor’s actions were moral.  In some ways, he was wrong, and in other ways, I’m not too sure.  For instance, I don’t know if I can blame him for starting a new life.  It would depend on the situation, if he really fell in love with his new wife and cared for this new life.  I know that marriage is important and should not be dealt with lightly, but sometimes people grow apart.  Then again, sometimes people can grow closer with effort.  I just don’t know.  It all depends!  I CAN say that I believe it was wrong of him to lead his new life in secrecy.  Sure, he continued to send her money, but by being with a new woman and starting a new family, he was, in many ways, still abandoning Moon Orchid.  I think he should have been open and honest.  He should have told Moon Orchid the truth.  I also don’t think that he should have treated Moon Orchid and Brave Orchid the way that he did.  He was disrespectful and cruel.  When Brave Orchid suggests he take her sister back, he snaps back, “’Look at her.  She’d never fit into an American household.  I have important American guests who come inside my house to eat.’  He turned to Moon Orchid, ‘You can’t talk to them.  You can barely talk to me’” (Kingston 153).

I can't say whether or not it was wrong of the doctor to begin a new life. I can say that it was wrong of him to treat Moon Orchid so dishonestly, cruelly, and inconsiderately..

The theme of not fitting in continues in the final chapter.  Kingston talks about her childhood days and about how she herself felt alienated.  She remembers enjoying silence and not talking during school.  She remembers the days when her mother would do crazy things and force her and her siblings to act similarly.  She says at one point, “We brothers and sisters did not look at one another.  She would do something awful, something embarrassing.  She’d already been hinting that during the next eclipse we slam pot lids together to scare the frog from swallowing the moon” (Kingston 169).  When her mother sends her to demand sweets from the local pharmacy, Kingston remembers feeling ridiculous.  She says, “I felt the weight and immensity of things impossible to explain to the druggist” (Kingston 171).  For Kingston, growing up Chinese-American is difficult and often indescribable to others.

In school, Kingston enjoyed silence and was often alienated by her peers.

As a result, Kingston felt alone as a child.  She confesses, “There were secrets never to be said in front of the ghosts, immigration secrets whose telling could get us sent back to China.  Sometimes I hated the ghosts for not letting us talk; sometimes I hated the secrecy of the Chinese” (Kingston 183).  In school, Kingston reveals that she had developed a deep hatred for one particular girl who never spoke.  She says, “She [the little girl] stood still, and I did not want to look at her face anymore; I hated fragility” (Kingston 176).  In a lot of ways, I think that Kingston saw herself in the little girl.  Like the silent girl, Kingston rarely talked.  Like the little girl, Kingston felt at odds with her Chinese background.  She warns the little girl, “That’s all you are if you don’t talk.  If you don’t talk, you can’t have a personality” (Kingston 180), and in so doing, warns herself of the dangers of keeping quiet.

Maxine Hong Kingston, The Woman Warrior. NY: Vintage Books, 1989. pb.